Some would argue that Dallas’ season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles answered more questions than it raised. There were so many unknowns ahead of 2025, and Week 1 gave us several things to feel better about for the road ahead. But in the end, the standings don’t care about your feelings. The Cowboys are now […] Some would argue that Dallas’ season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles answered more questions than it raised. There were so many unknowns ahead of 2025, and Week 1 gave us several things to feel better about for the road ahead. But in the end, the standings don’t care about your feelings. The Cowboys are now 0-1 overall and in the NFC East, so there’s work to be done. Here are three questions that Dallas has to answer before hosting the Giants next Sunday, and for the remainder of the season. And no, “Will CeeDee Lamb keep dropping passes,” is not one of them. He won’t. Can the pass rush improve? There are several reasons that the Cowboys only registered one sack in Philly, courtesy of Marshawn Kneeland. The biggest one was Jalen Hurts, who was fantastic that night with his pocket presence and decision-making. But just last year, the Eagles allowed 45 sacks, putting them right in the middle of all teams. So it’s certainly possible to make life harder for the reigning Super Bowl MVP. Of course, this topic is inflamed by what went down with Micah Parsons. But he’s not walking through that door, so let’s talk about who needs to. Donovan Ezeiruaku showed his potential, beating OT Jordan Mailata more than once. Against most teams, he would’ve recorded his first sack. He nearly forced Hurts into an incompletion in the fourth quarter, but Saquon Barkley made a superstar catch. The nature of the game also limited guys like Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas from being able to attack up the middle. Keeping Hurts contained became a problem early, and the Eagles were rarely forced into clear passing situations. But if Kenny Clark and the defensive front can shut down the run like they did in the second half, most other teams will get more one-dimensional and make life easier for the pass rushers. So yes, it’s certainly fixable. Matt Eberflus will get more familiar with his options and the best ways to utilize them as the season goes on. Ezeiruaku and Kneeland will hopefully blossom with more playing time. And most future opponents won’t present the challenge that the Eagles do. Dallas appears to have improved its overall run defense from last year, but now has to prove that they didn’t just trade one weakness for another. Is Javonte Williams better than we thought? One might look at Williams’ 15 carries for 54 yards, only a 3.6 average, and think it was a bad start to his Cowboys tenure. But there’s plenty of circumstance in those numbers, and the eye test was a more accurate gauge of how our new RB1 actually fared. Both of Williams’ touchdowns were on 1st-and-1 carries, which hurt his average. Take those away, and he averaged 4.0 on the other 13. You give him the touch on Miles Sanders’ 49-yard run, which was mostly due to blocking, and his average goes up tremendously. Overall, Williams displayed good vision, decisiveness, and the power to finish runs for extra yards. He looked closer to his 2021 rookie form than the post-injury version we saw the last two years in Denver. Now, we have to acknowledge that everyone on the Cowboys’ offense benefited from Jalen Carter’s ejection. That’s probably truer for Williams than anyone. Next week, against Dexter Lawrence and the Giants’ defensive front, will probably be a better test of just what this run game can really do in 2025. Will George Pickens keep his cool? Only four targets in a game is low compared to what Pickens was used to in Pittsburgh. While he knows he’s not the franchise WR in Dallas, it’s still a contract year for a guy who’s already seen his relationship with one team go sour. It’s been all fun and games during the offseason, when practice reps are generally going to go as designed. But in the regular season, if Prescott leans more on Lamb, Ferguson, and his more familiar receivers, will Pickens keep being a good citizen? This isn’t a prediction, but just a logical concern given how Pickens’ last marriage ended. Hopefully, future games allow for a more balanced attack. The Eagles winning time-of-possession by about 10 minutes limited how much work Dallas had to spread around. And given their familiarity with the opponent, it made sense for Prescott and Lamb to do their thing. Hopefully, Pickens sees that too. 0 CommentsSee More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

Giants’ Daboll doesn’t commit to Wilson as Week 2 starter – Jordan Raanan, ESPN The Giants have a QB problem.  New York Giants coach Brian Daboll was asked after Sunday’s 23-6 season-opening loss to the Washington Commanders if it was fair to say that quarterback Russell Wilson will be the team’s starter next week against the division rival Dallas Cowboys. His […] Giants’ Daboll doesn’t commit to Wilson as Week 2 starter – Jordan Raanan, ESPN The Giants have a QB problem. New York Giants coach Brian Daboll was asked after Sunday’s 23-6 season-opening loss to the Washington Commanders if it was fair to say that quarterback Russell Wilson will be the team’s starter next week against the division rival Dallas Cowboys. His answers were hardly definitive just moments after a contest in which first-round pick Jaxson Dart served as the team’s backup ahead of veteran Jameis Winston. Wilson went 17-of-37 passing for 168 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in the loss to the Commanders. He was especially ineffective under pressure, completing just 2-of-12 passes for 26 yards with two sacks and two scrambles. “We’re going to get home and look at our game,” Daboll said when asked if he would consider starting Dart next week. Nothing the Giants coach said afterward seemed to offer any significant clarity either. “Yeah, we’re just right here after the game,” Daboll said. “I’ve got confidence … we have to do better around overall — coaches, players, [all] around everybody. So we’ll get focused and ready to go on to Dallas.” When it was mentioned that answer could be construed as a non-answer, Daboll didn’t exactly say that Wilson would start against the Cowboys. He was equally noncommittal. “We’re talking about after every game … I’ve got confidence in Russ,” he said. “We’ll go back, evaluate the tape. This game isn’t on Russell Wilson. It’s not on Russell Wilson. Let me make that clear. I have confidence in Russ. We have to do a better job all the way around.” Eagles’ rumored Micah Parsons offer shows Jerry Jones picked the lesser evil – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat Sometimes the best offer isn’t the offer that helps the most. FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer reported on Sunday that the Eagles offered two first-round picks, a third-round pick, a fifth-round pick, and more for Parsons. If it were up to Cowboys fans, Parsons wouldn’t have been traded in the first place. And he certainly wouldn’t have been sent to the Packers. It’s rare that superstars are traded, let alone to a conference rival. Ideally, Jones would have sent Parsons to the AFC or a bottom-tier NFC team. Having said that, Cowboys fans should be relieved Dallas took Green Bay’s offer. While the extra picks would have been nice, Kenny Clark made an immediate impact on Thursday. The Cowboys allowed 2.8 yards per carry against the run when Clark was on the field, compared to 6.6 YPC when he wasn’t on the field. Furthermore, the Packers’ picks will likely be higher in the NFL Draft relative to Philly, even with Parsons on their team. The Eagles are expected to finish with one of the best records in the league once again. Of course, there is also the optic of Parsons donning an Eagles jersey. The idea of Parsons winning a Super Bowl in Green Bay is nauseating, but with Philly? There’s no coming back from that. It would cement it as one of the worst trades in NFL history. Cowboys O-line might be better than advertised – Mario Herrera Jr, Inside The Star Not a bad showing against a formidable Eagles defensive line. Just as impressive was their work in the run game. Last season, the Cowboys often struggled to create consistent running lanes, leaving Rico Dowdle and others bottled up at the line of scrimmage. On Thursday, that script flipped. Booker showed flashes of the physical, road-grading style that made him a standout at Alabama, while Beebe and Tyler Smith combined to push defenders off the ball. Even Guyton, once criticized for being a better pass blocker than run blocker, displayed improved power at the point of attack. The result was a balanced offensive attack that kept Philadelphia guessing and extended drives with crucial rushing yards. ’Yeah, but’ Cowboys’ pass rush shows Fool’s Gold, some promise in Week 1 vs Eagles – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire The jury is still out on the Micah Parsons-less pass-rushing unit. Low [sic] and behold, they did. Pro Football Focus charted a 41.2% pressure rate from the Dallas defense on Thursday night. Production like that puts the Cowboys pass rush in elite territory and indicates an ensemble cast such as this can successfully survive the loss of their leading man, provided the script is good enough. That part was the “yeah.” Now here comes the “but.” PFF also charted that 10 of the 20 pressures the Cowboys logged on Thursday were unblocked or in clean-up. If it wasn’t for missed blocking assignments and Jalen Hurts holding the ball a ridiculously long time, the stat sheet would paint a much different looking picture of Dallas’ pass rush.Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now. The reality is Hurts was allowed an average of 3.67 seconds on his dropbacks in Week 1. To put that into a season-long context, that would have led the NFL in 2024 since the league leader, Lamar Jackson, posted an average time to throw of 2.98 seconds last year. That type of context indicates the Cowboys pass rush was nothing short of atrocious. 3 Dallas Cowboys who must improve following subpar debut vs. Eagles – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated Ultimately, Dallas needs to improve if they want to succeed in 2025. George Pickens, WR George Pickens was the team’s top addition this offseason and is expected to give them a second huge playmaker at wide receiver. His first game wasn’t terrible, but the Cowboys need more. Pickens had 30 yards on three attempts and drew

It has been a week and a half since the Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, and a few hours from the time of this writing he will officially make his debut with the green and gold. Matters as they relate to Parsons have finally cooled on the Cowboys front, but […] It has been a week and a half since the Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, and a few hours from the time of this writing he will officially make his debut with the green and gold. Matters as they relate to Parsons have finally cooled on the Cowboys front, but there are a handful of stories still popping up across the league as other teams were seemingly interested in trading for him. One team that has been tossed out a lot has been the Philadelphia Eagles. Obviously Howie Roseman is a very aggressive general manager, Parsons has a history in Pennsylvania so it made sense on a lot of levels. But it goes without saying that trading a superstar player in your division is a bold proposition. Up until now, conversations had kind of stopped there, but on Sunday morning Jay Glazer reported what the Eagles allegedly offered Dallas. If we take this at full-face value we can lay out the offers next to one another. Green Bay’s Offer for Micah Parsons 2026 First-Round Pick 2027 First-Round Pick Kenny Clark Philadelphia’s Offer for Micah Parsons (Reportedly) 2026 First-Round Pick 2027 First-Round Pick Third-Round Pick (year unknown) Fifth-Round Pick (year unknown) “other things” It is easy to say that the extra picks from the Eagles would have made their offer better, but it is important to know that we don’t know what year they would have come in. We also know that Kenny Clark is a quality player, whereas who you choose in the third or fifth round is not so assured. Also of note, the Eagles are a better team than the Packers. Philadelphia are literally the reigning Super Bowl Champions. It stands to reasons that first-round picks from them with Parsons on their team would be in worse position from Dallas’ standpoint than Green Bay’s (a talented team in their own right). Do you think the Cowboys should have taken Philly’s offer? 0 CommentsSee More: Dallas Cowboys News

The Dallas Cowboys may have been the biggest underdog of any NFL team in Week 1, but it didn’t seem to bother them. They played physical football and were going toe-to-toe with the reigning Super Bowl champions all night, even after an hour long rain delay. In the end, though, Dallas fell just short of […] The Dallas Cowboys may have been the biggest underdog of any NFL team in Week 1, but it didn’t seem to bother them. They played physical football and were going toe-to-toe with the reigning Super Bowl champions all night, even after an hour long rain delay. In the end, though, Dallas fell just short of shocking the world. It was a close, hard-fought game that was ultimately decided by a handful of key plays. These five, in particular, loom large when thinking back on the game. Missed hold on Jalen Hurts’ scramble leads to touchdown Early on, this game was an offensive bonanza, with each team marching down the field and scoring points at will. It felt like the first team to get a stop on defense may win by default, but neither defense seemed ready to do that. On the Eagles’ second possession, though, there was a moment that stands out still. Dallas led 14-7 and the Eagles were driving. A gain of one yard set up a second and long, and the Cowboys secondary took everything away for Jalen Hurts. The quarterback then scrambled for a first down, but the Dallas sideline was beside themselves over a perceived missed call for holding. Donovan Ezeiruaku looked to have Jordan Mailata beat before being completely wrapped up. A holding call there would have resulted in a second and 19, and put the Eagles just outside of Dallas territory, giving the defense a real shot at getting the first stop of the game. Instead, first down Philadelphia, and a touchdown four plays later. Deep shot to Jahan Dotson flips field Following that touchdown, the Cowboys went back down the field again, but were ultimately forced to settle for a field goal. Still, they were up 17-14, and a muffed kick return from the Eagles started them off in poor field position with just over two minutes until halftime. Two quick plays brought up a third and six for the Eagles, with Dallas needing just one stop to really take control of the game. They got the exact opposite of that. Hurts launched a deep shot to Jahan Dotson on a post route. Kaiir Elam was in Dotson’s hip pocket, but Hurts put the ball in the perfect spot, where only Dotson could get it. Just like that, the Eagles had flipped the field and were in prime scoring range. Just a few plays later, Saquon Barkley ran it in for a touchdown to put Philadelphia up. One perfectly thrown deep shot is all it took for the Eagles to go from punting down three to taking a lead into halftime. Miles Sanders’ poorly timed fumble Everyone knew this was going to be on here. Miles Sanders helped put the Cowboys in great position to score and take the lead after a 49-yard run on the Cowboys’ first drive of the third quarter. Unfortunately, he also killed that drive a few plays later. After a series of penalties that backed the offense up, and then moved them forward, Sanders got the carry on first down from the 11-yard line, and immediately fumbled the ball. Were it not for a heroic tackle from Dak Prescott, the Eagles would have surely returned this for a touchdown. Even with that crisis averted, the Cowboys were robbed of sure points, and they never got that close to the endzone for the rest of the night. CeeDee Lamb screen gets blown up While much of the focus of this game will be the fumble and CeeDee Lamb’s dropped passes, there were other moments that played a part in the game, too. One play involving Lamb turned out to be pretty huge. The Cowboys had just reached Philadelphia territory, thanks to a Javonte Williams run, in the final seconds of the third quarter. Playing with tempo, Dallas ran one more play before the quarter ended. It involved a screen to Lamb out on the side, with some window dressing to draw the defense’s attention the other way. However, a couple Eagles defenders sniffed it out, and Lamb ended up being tackled for a loss of three. That set up third and 10 to start the fourth quarter, which unsurprisingly brought up a punt. If the screen had worked, though, Lamb would have easily moved the chains and may have even been able to score. Instead, it killed yet another second half drive for the Cowboys. CeeDee Lamb’s two huge drops Obviously we can’t talk about this game without talking about those drops from Lamb. In total, he was credited with four drops, but the last two were easily the biggest, as both came on the Cowboys’ final offensive possession. The first was a deep shot that would have completely flipped the field, similar to the Dotson throw, but the ball went right through Lamb’s hands. The second was a harder catch, but still one that Lamb needs to make. Going for it on fourth down, Lamb had a step on his man and Prescott led him out in front, but the receiver couldn’t haul it in. Lamb took full responsibility for it after the game, too. Either one of those catches could have easily popped up on this list as a reason why the Cowboys won, had Lamb been able to come down with the ball, but instead we’re talking about the reverse of that. It’s hard to stomach your best receiver – who’s also one of the best in the league – disappearing in crunch time, but Lamb was unfortunately a big part of the Cowboys’ season opening loss. 0 CommentsSee More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

Brian Schottenheimer needed one game to prove he’s an upgrade over Mike McCarthy- Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat Brian Schottenheimer is already making the offense look more modern. Micah Parsons was the two-ton elephant in the room going into Thursday night, but all eyes were glued to how Brian Schottenheimer would fare in his first […] Brian Schottenheimer needed one game to prove he’s an upgrade over Mike McCarthy- Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat Brian Schottenheimer is already making the offense look more modern. Micah Parsons was the two-ton elephant in the room going into Thursday night, but all eyes were glued to how Brian Schottenheimer would fare in his first game as an NFL head coach. While the Dallas Cowboys came up short in a 24-20 dogfight, it’s not to be very high on Schottenheimer. For starters, Schottenheimer had his team ready to play. The Cowboys outmatched the Eagles’ physicality for large stretches after preaching all offseason that they would be a physical side. Beyond that, Dallas was extremely discipline. Their four penalties were the fewest they’ve had in a Week 1 game since 2015, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. As if that wasn’t enough, Schottenheimer passed the play-calling test with flying colors after Cowboys fans had to endure Mike McCarthy’s bland and outdated offense the last five years. Brian Schottenheimer is already a better play-caller than former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy According to Next Gen Stats (via ESPN analyst Mina Kimes), the Cowboys used motion at the snap on 42 percent (!) of the plays against the Eagles. That would’ve ranked fourth in the NFL last season. Just three teams leaned on motion at the snap less than Dallas under McCarthy last season. Ladies and gentleman, the Cowboys finally have a modernized offense. Kavontae Turpin in particular was used in motion on 53.8 percent of his snaps, including nine in motion at the snap, per Next Gen Stats. That nearly doubled his motion rate under McCarthy in 2024. Turpin was only targeted twice and received two carries, but putting him in motion allowed Schottenheimer to pick up on how the Eagles were deploying Cooper Dejean and Vic Fangio’s other chess pieces. The overall play-calling and scheme design was night and day compared to last season. While new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and offensive line coach Conor Riley deserve some flowers as well, Schottenheimer deserves the most credit for standing on business. Back in his introductory press conference, Schottenheimer vowed to make the offense “multiple” and said he was a big believer in shifts and motion. It’s one thing to say that publicly to sell a vision. It’s another to implement it and do it successfully against a really good defense. Views from the couch: League-wide things to watch for Cowboys fans in Week 1-Sean Martin, Blogging the Boys Even though Dallas isn’t playing today, pay attention to this during the Week 1 slate. Early kickoff: New York Giants at Washington Commanders This is an obvious place to start for so many reasons. By the end of week one, the entire NFC East will have seen how they fared against one of their closest rivals. The Cowboys came up four points short against the Eagles, and now the team the Eagles hosted in last year’s conference championship will start the season at home against the Giants. Some Cowboys fans may be watching this game with more of an interest in what the Commanders will look like in year two under Dan Quinn and with Jayden Daniels at quarterback, as well as a player that’s been a thorn in their side in the past, Deebo Samuel. The road team is next week’s opponent coming to AT&T Stadium, and if the Cowboys are going to continue their dominance against the Giants, they’ll have to do it against a new quarterback. Russell Wilson will be making his debut for the Giants in this early kickoff game. Wilson wasn’t exactly the answer for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year (who the Cowboys did not face when they beat the Steelers either), but he adds a level of viability at the most important position in the game the Giants haven’t had in some time. Mobility also isn’t his strong suit anymore, but given the Cowboys’ defensive struggles against Jalen Hurts scrambling in the opening loss, it will be something to keep an eye on just a little bit. The Commanders swept the Giants last season with a 21-18 win in week two and 27-22 win on the road in week nine. Early kickoff: Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints We go from a former Cowboys player making his debut elsewhere, to a former coach making his debut as a head coach for the first time. Kellen Moore’s first game with the New Orleans Saints comes at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Saints are one of the teams projected to be in contention for the number one overall pick this year, and whether or not that’s fair to a coach who was just the Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator (in Philadelphia) will start to be found out in week one. The Cardinals lost five of their last seven games a season ago, so this might be an early opportunity for the Saints to get a win that would still come as a surprise. They are a 6.5-point underdog at home on FanDuel. As offensive coordinator for the Eagles, Moore was able to lean into the run game thanks to Saquon Barkley in ways the Cowboys could only dream of during his time in Dallas. It will be interesting to see the next evolution of Moore’s offense with yet another roster where his best skill player is in the backfield with Alvin Kamara. The Saints also named the mobile Spencer Rattler their week one starter. Rattler started six games a season ago as a fifth-round pick. Former Cowboys receiver Brandin Cooks will be one of Rattler’s targets in this game. The Saints are the